The broader impact of the INCF is to facilitate the utilization of neuroinformatics in a spectrum of neuroscience and engineering areas. Major technological advances in communication science, robotics and machine-human interface of the 21st century are increasingly reliant on strategies of information processing that are analogous to those used by the brain. Success in neuroinformatics (data bases and modeling), the multidisciplinary field interfacing the domains of biomedicine and information technology, will not only markedly enhance the understanding of the brain and brain-inspired technology, but also reduce the enormous social, economic and psychological burdens caused by brain disorders. It should also lead to greatly enhanced competitiveness in the industrial and economic environment of a nation. Fulfillment of this promise constitutes a global megascience challenge.